Yangon Travel Guide for Backpackers – Fascinating Myanmar

A huge metropolis, Yangon can be beguiling at first. Therefore, to avoid too many complications exploring the best attractions in Yangon, choose central accommodation such as a Yangon city hotel. You will find that basing yourself within the city will benefit both budget and traveling. Besides, there are plenty of good choices, with some like PARKROYAL Yangon, offering ease of access to restaurants, shops, and transport hubs in the city.

Plan to spend between three to four days in Yangon exploring at a slow pace. This time frame is enough to explore all the sites and not end up exhausted because you kept rushing from one attraction to the other. You will find city hotels in Yangon offer several types of discounts depending on the duration of stay.

The best option for reaching your Yangon hotel from the airport is the airport taxi. The service is provided by the government; hence, rates are fixed and are the fastest and most efficient mode of travel, from airport to hotel. To travel internally in Yangon, you have a few options. The easiest and recommended option is the bicycle rickshaw, inexpensive and easy to hail, the rickshaws are found outside hotels, malls, and markets. There are city taxis as well you can choose; however, make sure to agree to a fare before you set off. The other option is the bus. Quite a cultural experience traveling by bus in Yangon is for the adventurous, as it is difficult to figure out the network and schedule at once, with not knowing Burmese being another disadvantage, with a high probability of you ending up traveling to a destination other than where you were heading.

Inexpensive eats are aplenty in Yangon and you can explore some while sightseeing. Some like Golden Duck Restaurant and 999 Shan Noodle House are real value for money deals. You can enjoy a steaming bowl of noodles and a lovely dinner with drinks for very minimal costs. If you crave something closer to home, check out Rangoon Tea House. Although this is not a budget-friendly eatery, the dishes will be familiar. Of course, there are supermarkets around the downtown Yangon area for picking up a few items to take back to your hotel in Yangon for snacking.

Shwedagon Pagoda is an iconic attraction you should visit, especially for those social media updates. The golden structures you can find here are magnificent. Take the Yangon Circle Train for a scout of the city's best attractions. The train takes about three hours to complete its tours and is one of the best modes to explore the major sites. For a taste of local lifestyles visit the Dala Township. Located on the opposite bank of the Yangon River, the village is ideal to learn about the simple lifestyles of the locals living on very low incomes.